Operation Eagle Pull

Operation Eagle Pull
Part of the Vietnam War, the Cambodian Civil War (Fall of Phnom Penh)
United States Marines deploy at LZ Hotel on 12 April 1975
United States Marines deploy at LZ Hotel on 12 April 1975
Date12 April 1975
Location
Cambodia – Phnom Penh, 11°32′53.16″N 104°55′52.16″E / 11.5481000°N 104.9311556°E / 11.5481000; 104.9311556 (Scene of Operation Eagle Pull)
Result
  • Successful United States evacuation
  • US forces airlift 289 people to safety
Belligerents
 United States
Cambodia Khmer Republic		 Cambodia Khmer Rouge
Commanders and leaders
Admiral Don Whitmire Pol Pot
Casualties and losses
2 helicopters damaged None known

Operation Eagle Pull was the United States military evacuation by air of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 12 April 1975.[1][2] At the beginning of April 1975, Phnom Penh, one of the last remaining strongholds of the Khmer Republic, was surrounded by the Khmer Rouge and totally dependent on aerial resupply through Pochentong Airport. With a Khmer Rouge victory imminent, the US government made contingency plans for the evacuation of US nationals and allied Cambodians by helicopter to ships in the Gulf of Thailand. Operation Eagle Pull took place on the morning of 12 April 1975 and was a tactical success carried out without any loss of life. Five days later the Khmer Republic collapsed and the Khmer Rouge occupied Phnom Penh.

  1. ^ "Chapter 5: The Final Curtain, 1973–1975". history.navy.mil. 2000. Retrieved 24 July 2007.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ "Operation "Eagle Pull" In Cambodia | Ann Arbor District Library". aadl.org. Retrieved 2019-12-21.